The present invention relates to a swing assembly and, more particularly, to a swing assembly which has a compact configuration and which provides easy access for placing an infant in the assembly.
Children's swings for infants have been available for several years and typically include an overhead support housing for supporting a pair of pivoting side bars which support an infant seat. The overhead housing is typically supported by two front legs and two rear legs and, as a result, the infant seat is commonly pivoted about a pivot point located a substantial distance from the seat such that the arc of pivot for the seat is also large and the infant will undergo a minimal amount of angular tilting while swinging.
Further, as a result of providing an overhead structure for supporting the seat during its swinging movement, access to the seat from above the seat is hindered and it is sometimes difficult to place the infant within the seat. This is particularly true when the seat is provided with a stationary front strap or bar for engaging between the infant's legs and retaining the infant in the seat, which thus requires that the infant's legs be threaded through a pair of openings in the seat while the infant is lowered into the seat. In addition, as a result of the support legs extending up adjacent to the location of the pivot point in the overhead housing, the legs are typically extremely long and make it difficult to maneuver the swing when it is transported between different rooms in a house.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,872 to Spillman et al discloses a device which attempts to overcome the problem associated with inadequate overhead access room for the infant seat and includes side members which extend upwardly a sufficient distance to support a pivot for the seat while providing an open central area above the seat. However, this device still requires the provision of a pivot point for the seat which is substantially above the seat in order to provide a desired swing arc such that this device suffers from the disadvantage of being relatively awkward to maneuver when being transported to different locations.
Accordingly, there is a need for a swing assembly having improved access for permitting an infant to be easily placed in a seat of the assembly, and which is formed of a compact structure whereby the assembly may be easily transported to different locations.